N.Y. Metals Dealer Sues Over Sandy Damage to Inventory

Manfra, Tordella & Brookes Inc., a precious-metals dealer, sued the owner of a lower Manhattan building over damage to hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of its inventory from superstorm Sandy.

The company filed the suit against the owners of 90 Broad Street in New York State Supreme Court today, seeking more than $4 million in damages. Manfra, Tordella & Brookes said its whole inventory of precious metals -- which was stored in a specially constructed vault in the sub-basement of the building -- must be replaced, reconditioned or cleaned.

“The water severely damaged MTB’s gold and other precious metals inventory and destroyed office files, computers and other equipment,” the company said in a court filing. “Additionally, the water effectively suspended MTB’s business operations for a period of several months during what would normally have been its busiest time of year.”

The 56-year-old company is a wholesaler and retailer of precious metals, primarily bullion bars and coins, according to the court filing. It also serves as one of a handful of authorized depositories of gold, platinum and palladium for the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A representative of defendant 90 Broad Owner LLC couldn’t immediately be located for comment.

The case is Manfra, Tordella & Brookes Inc. v. 90 Broad Owner LLC, 150926/2013, New York State Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York state court at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net